IWM Endorses Jen Westmoreland for Hennepin County Commission District 6
We Endorse Jen!
The county government is hugely important. The budget is typically between 2.5 and 3 billion dollars. The County administers the prosecution of state statute, elections, and huge parts of our infrastructure. There is an upcoming special election for Hennepin County District 6, and the IWM board has voted to endorse Jen Westmoreland for that race. Jen has been an ally and friend of IWM for a long time. She regularly attends our in person events, and has served as a stalwart progressive protector of education on the Hopkins School board since 2018. Jen is a strong figure in the never ending and increasingly intense effort to protect LGBTQ+ rights and, at this point, lives. She has also been working on housing and is involved with major unhoused-person activism and action involving the county.
We recognize that there is a great diversity and abundance of quality across the candidates running for this office, so it was with careful consideration that we chose Jen Westmoreland for our support. If you are in District 6, please go to the polls for the primary election on April 30th (or vote early, starting on April 12th). The special election itself will be on May 14th (early voting starts on May 6th).
Upcoming Hennepin County 6 Forums
There will be a League of Women Voters candidate forum for Hennepin County District 6 on April 10th, 7PM at the Minnetonka City Hall. Details here.
There will be an ISIAH forum for Hennepin County District 6 on April 21, 2024 2:30 PM - 4:00 PM at St. David’s Episcopal Church in Minnetonka. Details here and Poster here.
We have no friends in the GOP
The Republican Party attacked all the Trans people and their allies with faux outrage over the (false) fact that President Biden deliberately put Transgender Day of Visibility on Easter. (We would have thought GOP Fundies would want it on August 6th). Truth: TDV has always been on March 31st, and Easter moves around like a rabbit under a crow’s nest. For more on this and other GOP related lies, see this story about Tom Emmer and the Easter Egg Rolling Contest.
But we do have friends in the DFL
Note the dates of the upcoming conventions, which you will be attending if you were elected as a delegate during Precinct Caucus. If you are not a delegate, but still want to be involved, each of these three Senate District is probably still seeking volunteers to help with the convention. I’m sure SD 42 and SD 45 both need Sargents At Arms, and there are probably other rolls to fill.
SD 37 April 12th Registration Starts at 6PM at Basswood Elementary School
SD 42 April 14th Registration Starts at 10AM at Wayzata High School
SD 45 April 13th Registration Starts at 9:15 AM, Minnetonka High School
More details and the list of all known conventions can be found HERE.
The CD3 convention will be held on May 4th at Maple Grove Middle School (registration starts at 8AM).
Yes We Can
Inspired by Lara Trump’s recent unthinkably bad Tom Petty cover (no link to that, sorry!) the DNC’s response, and to remember the words of President Biden’s former boss, we give you: